Why Hasn’t NASA Returned To The Moon?

On December 19th 1972, Apollo 17 returned to Earth after eight days on the Moon It was the sixth successful manned lunar mission in the space of three years

It would also be the last More than four decades later, the Apollo 17 team remain the last humans to set foot on the Moon’s surface But why? UFO Insight Writer and Editor Ian Stephens believes that NASA has not returned to the Moon because it is secretly inhabited by a sophisticated alien civilisation According to Ian Stephens, this alien species has colonised the dark side of the Moon From settlements and rocket bases, they monitor life on Earth

Stephens believes “NASA has decided the best way to deal with it is to deny its existence” His claim is corroborated by former NASA staff including Donna Hare She allegedly worked in the agency’s photo labs in the early 1970s Hare revealed that high ranking employees once shared top-secret information with her This included the revelation that astronauts from one of the Moon landings said they discovered three UFOs when they reached the moon

These mysterious craft then trailed them for the duration of their mission Another former employee – Karl Wolfe – claims that while working on NASA’s Lunar Orbiter Project in 1965, he discovered photographic evidence of an alien base on the Moon Wolfe says the images showed a series of mushroom-shaped buildings, spherical structures and towers built by aliens, which NASA chose to hide from the public More intriguingly, author Maurice Chatelain has published radio transcripts from several of the Apollo missions These include conversations from the Apollo 11 mission

The transcripts show that as Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, the surrounding craters were lined with observant alien spaceships When the astronauts informed mission control, they were instructed to be silent on the issue, so that word would not get out NASA claims it is pursuing a “Global Exploration Strategy” This is an international effort to discuss the goals and purpose of exploring the Moon Current conclusions state there is no urgency to return to there

However, given there are a number of scientific questions that require lunar data to answer, this seems unlikely Ian Stephens argues that this is simply a PR stunt to keep the public in the dark Indeed, in 1968 NASA published Document R-277, a comprehensive list of 9600 mysterious phenomena on the Moon’s surface This includes an inexplicable “eruption” seen by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kozyrev in the Alphonsus Crater in 1958 It remains unsolved to this day

In 1977 George Leonard published photographs which appear to show footprints on the Moon that he claimed were made by aliens The book also includes photographs of Tycho Crater Leonard says the photos clearly show the crater is actually a construction site and hiding place for alien machinery However, although these mysteries have yet to be explained, they do not offer proof of extraterrestrial life on the Moon Hare and Wolfe’s testimonies are certainly interesting, but there is no evidence to suggest they are authentic

Instead, there may be other, more banal reasons we haven't returned to the Moon The Apollo Programme is estimated to have cost a massive $110 billion in today’s money Recent estimates put the cost of a mission today at over $105 billion Given that NASA’s total federal budget for 2017 is $19 billion, a Moon landing would be financially very difficult Moreover, there is no evidence that NASA’s Global Exploration Strategy is a ploy to distract from the truth

NASA says it relates to the changing demands of lunar travel Earlier missions intended simply to take people to the Moon and return them to Earth This is no longer the case According to John Olson, Director of NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Integration Office, visiting other planets “is no longer about flags and footsteps” Significantly, the United States was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union at the time of previous Moon landings

This included a so-called “Space Race”, with both states competing to have more sophisticated space technology There was therefore a very clear political incentive for previous Moon landings, which we do not have today But as tensions escalate between Russia and the US, it is possible this could change In December 2016, the CIA released evidence that Russian spies had electronically manipulated the recent American election

This prompted President-elect Trump to issue a Tweet directed at Russia, challenging the state to a new arms race As journalist Sean O’Grady says, “We are facing the possibility of a second Cold War” This could affect the cooperative relationship they have had on projects like the International Space Station We may be on the brink of another space race, and with it the impetus for NASA to return to the Moon Importantly, NASA has not sidelined lunar exploration

Rather, it has plans that require greater time to see through At the 2010 Global Lunar Conference, scientists unveiled plans to establish a fully operational base on the Moon by 2050 The base will be used as a waystation for space travel further afield There are still several unexplained mysteries on the Moon But these alone are insufficient evidence of extraterrestrial life

It is more likely that for political and financial reasons, NASA has concentrated on deep space exploration with probes since 1972 Recent announcements of a mission to Mars and plans for a lunar base are encouraging – suggesting that man’s small steps into our solar system are not ended